Dell has updated its 13-inch XPS notebook for the year 2018 with a number of changes, including a thinner and lighter design, more connectors, and the latest Intel processors ranging from a dual-core to a quad -Core increase design, while maintaining the 15 watt rated power. AppleInsider, one of the largest competitors in the notebook space, decided to test the XPS against the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro to see how the two stack up.

Appearance

Starting with the exterior, the XPS is smaller and lighter than the MacBook Pro and weighs only 2.65 pounds compared to 3 pounds. At just under 1

2 inches, the width is about the same for both notebooks, but the MacBook is slightly lower at 8.36 inches than the 7.8 inches for the XPS.

Our MacBook Pro is also 0.59 inches thick, while the XPS measures 0.46 inches at the thickest point if you omit your feet, as Dell does for his measurement.

The biggest reason why Dell can install a 13-inch display in such a small shell is the "Infinity Edge" design, which makes the Gorilla Glass 4 screen look like floating. Although the design is impressive, it has some limitations (19659004) Dell XPS MacBook Pro "height =" 372 "class =" lazy "data-original =" https://apple.insidercdn.com/gallery/25927-36142-28 -infiniti-edge-l.jpg "/>

The design of the Macbook is simple and beautiful, and the aluminum casing with metal hinge feels solid, most would agree with the Dell XPS 13 design is not quite as nice, but it It still looks and feels good with a blend of aluminum and soft-touch coated carbon fibers, though the new gold and white color scheme looks great.

The only real design proposal would be a cutout to open the display and one slightly softer hinge resistance for non-touch screen models

Power and Charging

Battery life is tight, with the Mac compared to a 54.5 watt-hour battery in the Dell's 52-watt hour version ,

Our 2017 13-inch MacBook Pro includes a higher wattage charger that delivers 61 watts to the 45 watts XPS charger. Both chargers use USB-C connectors, but the XPS has a separate cable that removes the device from the wall outlet instead of Apple's all-in-the-plug design. The XPS charging cable contains an LED indicator and a cable management clip, but unfortunately it is hardwired into the power brick.

Both machines do not need their charging cables connected too often as they offer class-leading battery life. Our MacBook Pro is designed for up to 10 hours of web use, which we often exceed, and Dell lists the 1080P XPS 13 9370's as capable of up to 13 hours of streaming or web browsing, which matches our experience.

Connectivity

With the redesign of the MacBook Pro 2016, Apple has lost most peripheral ports and two Thunderbolt 3 ports for the basic machines like ours or four if you buy a touch-bar model. Luckily, Apple left the headphone jack in place.

The XPS 2018 update made the device lighter and thinner, forcing Dell to remove the standard USB ports, SD card slot, and charging connector. We now have three USB-C ports, two of which support Thunderbolt 3 and one microSD card slot.

The right side USB-C 3.1 port supports display ports, and the Thunderbolt ports run at full speed by supporting four PCI lanes, just like the MacBook Pro. This means that you can now connect external graphics card enclosures to the XPS.

Dell has put a USB A adapter in the box with the XPS, which is a nice extra that Apple can not afford.

Although the XPS has a charging logo next to the USB-C port on the top left, you can charge the notebook through one of the ports. There is also a handy 4-LED battery indicator and a status light on the front of the machine.

Performance

Both notebooks are equipped with 8 GB of power-saving DDR3 memory, but the Macbook clocks slightly faster at 2133 GHz than at 1866 GHz. The memory consists of a 256 GB solid-state drive with write speeds of over 1,200 MB / s write speed. The XPS comes with much faster read speeds of 3,313 MB / s versus 2,358 MB / s for the MacBook Pro, but with such high speeds, you will notice no real difference in the real world.

One of the most important upgrades of the 2018 XPS 9370 is the 8th generation Intel CPU, which for the first time features four cores and eight threads in a 15-watt design. Our XPS uses a Core i7 1.8GHz processor that provides turbo up to surprisingly high 4.0GHz. The MacBook Pro uses a 7th generation dual-core i5 with 2.3 GHz clock speed and a Turbo Boost of up to 3.6 GHz.

When starting benchmarks with the GeekBench 4 CPU test, the single-core speeds were surprisingly similar, with the Mac rated 4.511 and the Dell 4.591. Looking at multi-core results, the quad-core in the XPS shines with 13,658 points compared to 9,418, which was already impressive in the MacBook Pro 2017.

The MacBook reaches the Cinebench R15's 3D rendering benchmark and scores 379 points, but the XPS 13 scores 598 points. That's a huge boost in CPU performance per watt compared to its predecessor quad-core designs, slightly faster than a 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro and close to the current base-model 15 "MacBook Pro, while having less than Half of the performance.

Both of these machines come with integrated Intel graphics: Our 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with the higher-end Iris Plus 640 Graphics, giving us an OpenCL score of 29,435 points vs. 22,634 for the Intel UHD Graphics 620 used in the XPS 13. 19659006] If you're planning some easy gaming or other tasks that can directly take full advantage of the graphics performance, the Mac will run better but become processor-dependent tasks like video editing and rendering on the dell, still faster us a graphics rendering result of 47.83 f rames per second compared to 37.84 fps on the mac thanks to the much faster processor. [19659015] Software

Probably the biggest difference between the two are the operating systems they use. While a detailed comparison is saved for later, I have to say that I prefer Mac OS. I grew up with Windows and switched to a Mac only four years ago.

Setting up the Dell XPS took much longer than the Mac, and it was more cumbersome. In the time I spent with it, I've already endured some software glitches, a driver crash and a frustrating experience with pop-ups from Bloatware pre-installed on the machine.

Although Mac OS is not perfect, I find it easier to work with fewer overall problems. Although I'm a power user, I appreciate that the MacBook does most things efficiently so I can focus on my work.

After I said that Windows 10 is the best Microsoft operating system, and if you buy one of these two systems, it means that you can use both operating systems.

Display

The display of the Macbook is better in every way.

Sure, Dell's almost frameless design stands out, but it also forces the webcam next to the hinge. This makes a very unfavorable perspective that could be a deal breaker for those who often use the camera.

The Mac's FaceTime camera looks better, not just in terms of viewing angle, but also in terms of video and sound quality.

Both devices are listed as 13-inch notebooks, but the MacBook screen uses a 16:10 configuration that provides extra vertical space. Displays are measured diagonally so that the screen size looks similar to the paper.

In reality, the MacBook Pro has more surface area. The Dell XPS 13 is closer to the 12-inch Retina Macbook in usability and shares the same height, but with the Dell slightly wider.

The Dell XPS 13-inch is closer to the 12-inch Retina MacBook in ease of use, shares the same height, but comes a bit wider.

The Macbook is also leading in terms of color accuracy, viewing angles, maximum and minimum brightness and resolution. Our XPS 13 has a 1,920 x 1,080 display compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2,560 x 1,600. This gives about twice as many pixels, which is definitely noticeable.

For brightness, the Mac is designed with 500 nits, which is about the minimum needed for outdoor use in the sun, while the Dell XPS 13 screen offers a standard 350-Nits. There's a touchscreen option with 4K resolution for the XPS, which offers even better color accuracy than the MacBook, but just as bleak.

We think that the 1080p option is better for most people, since 4K is really overkill on one thing Windows 10's 13-inch display and mediocre resolution scaling can sometimes cause problems. It is also more expensive, and the battery life of the notebook is also noticeably affected by the increased number of pixels.

Security

Along with the integrated fingerprint reader that is missing our non-touch bar MacBook, one of our favorite features is Windows Hello. It uses technology similar to Face ID and works incredibly fast. As someone who loves Face ID on my iPhone X, this is exactly what I want on my MacBook, iMac and iPad.

Once I've fully opened the XPS 13, I'm already logged in, just like when I wipe my iPhone. I do not know how safe the implementation of Microsoft is compared to Apple, but chewing a cereal bar was enough for Windows Hello not to accept my face.

Apple offers Touch ID signup when you buy a more expensive MacBook. You can also log in automatically with an Apple Watch, but I have not used it since authentication often took longer than typing my password.

Keyboard

Beneath the 2018 display of Dell XPS is a surprisingly good keyboard, which most will prefer, compared to Apple's minimal Travel Butterfly Keys. I prefer the really clicking buttons of the latest MacBook models, unless I have a whole day to write, which leads to tired fingers. The XPS buttons are pretty quiet and feel good quality. The result is one of the best keyboards I've ever used on a Windows-based computer.

The trackpad, which moves even lower, is a big step beyond Apple's design. Just like the display, it's not terrible and is probably one of the best options in a Windows notebook. But once you get used to Apple's Force Touch Trackpad, which is about twice the size and feels perfect, no matter where you press, and can be adjusted to user preferences, nothing compares.

Audio

Since the market launch of the 12-inch Retina MacBook, Apple has been at the forefront of audio playback, offering shocking volume and sound quality in a tiny case. Our 2017 13-inch MacBook Pro speakers face the user and are louder with more boom at the bottom end, cleaner mids and sharper heights.

On the Dell, the volume is good enough for most situations, but the sound quality is below average and the speakers burn on the sides. If you're looking for a cheaper Windows notebook, you'll probably be fine with the speakers, but anyone switching from a MacBook will be disappointed.

Summary

If Dell improved the trackpad, speakers, and screen brightness, the XPS 13 would be a near-perfect product. I'd like to see Face ID in a MacBook along with the same Intel eighth-generation processors. I would also use thinner bezels, as long as it does not cause the webcam to move under the display.

Dell did a great job creating and updating the 13-inch XPS. It's not only thinner, lighter and smaller than Apple's latest 13-inch MacBook Pro, but also with superb build quality, impressive performance and better battery life.

Even if the incredible Windows Hello is not enough to get me out of the Apple ecosystem I'm invested in, if you're flexible and consider a Windows machine, the Dell XPS 13 9370 would be at the top of my list.

It's common for Windows notebooks to offer more performance and features per dollar compared to a MacBook system, but what is not so common is that the product is rounded off so well in many areas, while the Mac surpasses 2018 Dell XPS 13 9370 does just that.

How To Save On These Systems

Pick up the 2017 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.3GHz, 8GB, 256GB) in Space Gray for $ 1,299.00 or the Dell XPS13 (model XPS9370-7002SLV) for $ 1,399.00 with free express shipping and without taxes in most states Just send us a message to priceguides@gmail.com to request a time-sensitive one-time promotion code.